RENO, Nev. – The Reno Aces and the Salt Lake Bees went back-and-forth throughout their series, a close set that saw each game decided by three runs or less and was highlighted by offense, but Reno watched Salt Lake take each of the final three games for a series win.
A pair of two-RBI triples from Tim Tawa helped the Aces to be victorious in game one on June 9, with one of those three-baggers coming in the bottom of the eighth to end in a 6-4 final.
Tawa’s two triples triple on the night, the first occurring in in the fifth, made him the first Reno Ace in just over two calendar years with a two-triple performance. The last to do it was Bryson Brigman, who achieved the feat on June 1, 2024 against this same Salt Lake squad.
Also featured in the contest was the first Greater Nevada Field home run for Tyler Locklear, as his 421-foot homer to center was his first in 26 games played and 108 official at-bats.
Additionally, Locklear finished with another multi-hit effort which not only continued to set a Reno franchise record but also tied an MLB record (since 2005) for longest streak of multi-hit contests along with three others.
For nearly the entire game on June 10 the Aces held the lead over the Bees, leading 6-1 at the end of the third, but a late eighth-inning homer by Salt Lake handed Reno a 9-7 loss.
The contest was not the cleanest of games as the two teams combined to make eight errors. That is tied for the most in a Pacific Coast League contest so far this season, while the five errors committed by the Bees matches a franchise record for errors by a Reno opponent in a single game, the fifth time in franchise history an opponent has committed five miscues.
Of the 10 hits by Reno, seven came from a trio of bats in the No. 5-7 spots in the order in Jose Fernandez, Jacob Amaya and Angel Ortiz. Amaya boasted three hits in four trips while scoring three times, but Fernandez and Ortiz were not far behind with two hits and two runs scored. In addition to Ortiz’s three RBI, both Gavin Logan and Jordan Lawlar each picked up one of their own.
After taking the lead with a trio of run-scoring innings from the third to fifth, the Aces poured on four runs in the eighth to ensure a 7-4 win over the Bees on June 11.
In his 60th career Aces start, Tommy Henry walked six which matches a season-high by an Ace in 2026, but did not allow a run over four frames to become the fourth pitcher in team history that has issued six walks without allowing a run.
Highlighting the four-run eighth inning was the fourth homer of the season from Tawa, one of his two hits in the game. Christian Cerda led the way at the dish by logging three hits with all going for singles while driving one in. Urías was not far behind him, closing 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a walk, while Anderson Rojas also had two hits while scoring twice and driving one in.
Extra innings were kryptonite once again for Reno on June 12, as despite tying the game in the bottom of the ninth, it was Salt Lake that managed a pair of runs in the 10th and secured an 8-7 victory.
Starring in the game for Reno was Rojas, who was the first Ace this season to reach base in all six of his plate appearances. It has been quite a while since the last Ace did so, as Rojas is the first to achieve the feat since Jake McCarthy reached in all six of his on Aug. 25, 2023. Even further, Rojas became the fifth Ace in team history to reach in all six plate appearances including a home run.
Right-handed pitcher Jose Cabrera turned in a dominant outing in his first home start at the Triple-A level on June 13, but the offense struggled in Reno’s 3-0 loss to Salt Lake in game five.
Cabrera struck out six for the second time in three starts, the final one bringing an end to his sixth and final scoreless inning of the outing. That marked his quality start at Triple-A and the fourth by an Ace this season, but Reno is 0-4 in each of those games.
Jonatan Bernal came out of the bullpen in relief of Cabrera and tossed two scoreless frames in his Triple-A debut, striking out a pair and allowing just two baserunners.
Another close contest came down to the wire and was decided in the final at-bats, but despite the Aces tying the contest in the bottom of the eighth, it was the Bees who secured an 11-10 victory in the series finale on June 14.
The loss spoiled what was a comeback effort from Reno, who saw Jose Fernandez knot the game in the ninth when he tripled off the wall in center field. It was a continuation of the seesaw nature of the contest, as Kristian Robinson had crushed his sixth big fly of the campaign in the bottom of the seventh that had briefly put Reno in front.
However, a pair of two-out runs by Salt Lake in the eighth resulted in the Aces’ need for a big hit late.
During the fourth frame the Aces swiped three bases, just the 23rd time in franchise history that the Aces have stolen three bags in the same inning with the last instance on April 1, 2025 at Tacoma.
A pair of Aces had three-hit games and scored twice in Fernandez and Robinson, though the former tripled with an RBI while the latter homered with two RBI. All six other hits came from different bats including home runs from each of the top two spots in the lineup in Tawa and Amaya.
Despite Reno’s fifth straight series defat, four different Aces eclipsed the .400 mark, and two even climbed above .500 in Rojas and Cerda. Rojas was arguably more impressive, going 10-for-17 (.588) with seven runs scored, one homer and four RBI, while Cerda closed at .556 (5-for-9) with two runs scored, an RBI and three walks.
Though he could not quite recreate his PCL Player of the Week effort from the week prior, Tawa finished his week hitting .280 (7-for-25) with four runs scored, one double, two triples, two homers, a team-leading eight RBI, and a 1.077 OPS.
Next week is the final week of the 2026 first half of the season, and the Aces conclude the first 75 games with six against El Paso beginning on Tuesday.